Whatever the Cost
The sermon emphasizes the principle of sacrificial obedience, where surrendering to God at any cost leads to receiving a thousand times more and experiencing the life more abundant.
Charles E. Cowman preaches on the profound lesson from Abraham's obedience in sacrificing his son Isaac, showing how God rewards those who surrender their most cherished possessions or dreams to Him. Just as Abraham's act of faith led to the multiplication of his descendants and the eventual appearance of Jesus Christ, believers today are encouraged to trust God's faithfulness in returning blessings manifold for every sacrifice made. The sermon emphasizes that true surrender to God often leads to unexpected abundance, joy, and fulfillment beyond what we can imagine, culminating in a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.
Text
"'Because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son...I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven;...because thou hast obeyed my voice" (Gen. 22:16-18).
And from that day to this, men have been learning that when, at God's voice, they surrender up to Him the one thing above all else that was dearest to their very hearts, that same thing is returned to them by Him a thousand times over. Abraham gives up his one and only son, at God's call, and with this disappear all his hopes for the boy's life and manhood, and for a noble family bearing his name. But the boy is restored, the family becomes as the stars and sands in number, and out of it, in the fullness of time, appears Jesus Christ.
That is just the way God meets every real sacrifice of every child of His. We surrender all and accept poverty; and He sends wealth. We renounce a rich field of service; He sends us a richer one than we had dared to dream of. We give up all our cherished hopes, and die unto self; He sends us the life more abundant, and tingling joy. And the crown of it all is our Jesus Christ. For we can never know the fullness of the life that is in Christ until we have made Abraham's supreme sacrifice. The earthly founder of the family of Christ must commence by losing himself and his only son, just as the Heavenly Founder of that family did. We cannot be members of that family with the full privileges and joys of membership upon any other basis. --C. G. Trumbull
We sometimes seem to forget that what God takes He takes in fire; and that the only way to the resurrection life and the ascension mount is the way of the garden, the cross, and the grave.
Think not, O soul of man, that Abraham's was a unique and solitary experience. It is simply a specimen and pattern of God's dealings with all souls who are prepared to obey Him at whatever cost. After thou hast patiently endured, thou shalt receive the promise. The moment of supreme sacrifice shall be the moment of supreme and rapturous blessing. God's river, which is full of water, shall burst its banks, and pour upon thee a tide of wealth and grace. There is nothing, indeed, which God will not do for a man who dares to step out upon what seems to be the mist; though as he puts down his foot he finds a rock beneath him. --F. B. Meyer
Sermon Outline
- I. The Principle of Sacrificial Obedience
- A. God's promise to multiply Abraham's seed
- B. The cost of obedience: Abraham's only son
- C. The reward of obedience: a thousand times more
- II. The Pattern of God's Dealings
- A. Abraham's experience is a specimen of God's dealings
- B. Obedience at any cost is required
- C. The promise is received after enduring patiently
- III. The Way of Resurrection Life
- A. The way of the cross and the grave
- B. The garden represents the place of surrender
- C. The resurrection mount represents the place of triumph
Key Quotes
“We surrender all and accept poverty; and He sends wealth.” — Charles E. Cowman
“We give up all our cherished hopes, and die unto self; He sends us the life more abundant, and tingling joy.” — Charles E. Cowman
“The moment of supreme sacrifice shall be the moment of supreme and rapturous blessing.” — Charles E. Cowman
Application Points
- We must be willing to surrender our cherished hopes and die unto self in order to experience the life more abundant.
- The moment of supreme sacrifice will be the moment of supreme and rapturous blessing.
- God's river of wealth and grace will burst its banks and pour upon us when we dare to step out in faith.